Alfred Reed Bishop and Doris William Butler

The picture above is the very tap root of Bishop's Homegrown/Face Of The Earth Seed. My grandparents shortly after moving to Pekin Indiana from Greensburg KY in 1947 where they purchased the farm that is now Bishop's Homegrown. This picture was taken in Pekin in front of the old co-op next to the old railroad depot, neither of which exist today.

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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Coturnix Quail as a highly sustainable survival/homestead animal.

A little while back our good friend Blanche was kind enough to gift us some wonderful Texas A&M and Jumbo brown coturnix quail.

I admit, at first I was hesitant to add such a small bird to our already growing animal repitoire for fear of how they would handle the cold, I also didn't like the idea of leaving them cooped and having to provide 100% of their diet 100% of the time, nor was I particularly fond of the idea of having to maintain breeder cages of trios. I also wasn't particularly happy about the fact that according to many experts caged quail have lost all sense of brooding and hatching capacity. Fortunately I have found some alternative solutions.

My frist solution was to create a quail aviary, easy enough, I simply consolidated the turkey flock to the larger of the two turkey coops after culling what was sold for meat for the holiday season and created a new seperate pen in the Peasant barn to house the guinea flock. This freed up the smaller of the two turkey coops for conversion into a coturnix quail aviary. Roosts are not needed for coturnix, so I removed the roosts, put down a heavy bed of straw and added an old scraped together doghouse as a communal laying box, to this I also added a couple of florescent light fixtures. Two days after the move the male coturnix started to belt out their characteristic "crow" and the breeding commenced. Unfortunately male coturnix are increadibly territorial so fighting commenced.

This was less of an issue than I figured it would be, simply because of the fact that I had included in my move all the male texas A&M white quail. I'm not generally a fan of any type of white poultry, both because they are easy prey targets, but also because they are terrible pickers towards themselves mostly so I simply culled out all but the two very best white males from the flock, allowing the genetics of the jumbo browns to move forward (dominant over white genetics). Since then I've been getting eggs consistently and regularly. High quality, delicious quail eggs which I've been enjoying for breakfast on a near daily basis.

The first thing you will notice about coturnix as a breed other than their meat to bone ratio (which is fantastic 12-14 ounces each) and the fact that the turnaround is quick (16 days to hatch, 8 weeks to maturity) is just how proficient they are at laying eggs and just how large those eggs are compared to the size of the bird, one egg can account for 7% of a females body weight.

As always I have been experimenting with feed and feed ratios. The common information sources on the net all suggest high protein game bird feed, but as I am attempting to be as self sustainable as possible I decided that should circumstances ever get downright terrible in this country, that obviously would not be an option, so I switched over to something that I can fairly well replicate on my own, locally milled laying mash. 16% protein, egg production picked up dramatically over the gamebird feed and the birds not only maintained weight but added weight! So in the spirit of experimentation I then decided on a new "Homegrown" ration to experiment with. Ground eggshels from coturnix of course, dolomite lime (when shell was not available, this also makes a fantastic dust bath), finely ground Amanda Palmer corn, and an organic dogfood for protein (back to 27% protein plus the protein content of the corn, so roughly 35-40% protein). Laying went up even more, weight was maintained and birds were more energetic..........and they started brooding eggs!

And yes, before you say to yourself, well if things get bad or if your trying to be self sustainable why dog food? The answer is because it's cold outside and that's the quick answer, the alternative should things get really bad are twofold, refuse from butchering of farm animals (don't say it! Poultry are omnivores and scavengers!) or insect protein, likely dried or live weight worms from "The Wyrm", our vermiculture operation........of course we have not yet mentioned millet or other small grains nor have we mentioned the most important vector of all.....range feeding.

A few weeks back a friend of ours dropped of a 8 x 3 cage made from concrete wire, just big enough for quail to stick their head in and just small enough to keep them from escaping. I fixed the cage up and sturdied it with some heavy duty wite, to this I wired some old bread pallete casters to the bottom along with wiring in some carboard for the quail to stand on, one the tractor is pulled onto range it is then fliped over on it's back, placing the quail directly onto the ground where the quail can scratch for bugs and seeds and fertilize the ground, we will also make a small shed inside the tractor for the quail to seek refuge from hot or cold weather. Pictures coming soon.

To this I would add from my experiments that for the amount of food consumed the quail produce an inordanite amount of meat and eggs, much better conversion than any other poultry or rabbit that we have here on the farm. For nearly 60 quail at the moment we feed just roughly two lbs of feed a day, much easier to manage than turkeys or guineas in confinement, once on range come spring I imagine that the rate will drop substantially. Of course like chickens the egg laying nearly comes to a cease during the low light level months so in a sustainable situation it's unlikely that you will keep them laying eggs, however I have experimented with light requirements as well and the results are stunning. From my observations the only light needed is just enough for the quail to see their feed and water and breeding and laying will commence.

I am currently trying to amplify my flock as we speak with three days left on two incubators full of eggs of jumbo brown, XLD-1, Cinnamon, and Tuxedo varieties. In time I will breed out the white trait I dislike so much and I can afford to play around with some alternative rearing methods for no more than it takes to hatch and raise these little birds.

I am intensely interested in recall abilities. When I first got ahold of these quail I kept them in my rabbit meat hutch, one morning while feeding a Texas A&M took off into a local tree, I figured he was gone and was about to close the cage down when suddenly from nowhere he flew back, directly through the door of his cage, on the call of an anxious female......possibilities abound.

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Things you should be aware of if visiting or touring Bishop's Homegrown.

As with any business property there are certain legal restrictions we must abide by to protect ourselves and you. This is for your information and is very important for you to read before visiting our farm.

1. Under Indiana law, an agritourism provider is not liable for an injury to, or the death of, a participant in agritourism activities at this location if the death or injury results from the inherent risks of agritourism activity. Inherent risks of agritourism activities include risks of injury inherent to land, equipment, and animals as well as the potential for you to act in a negligent manner that may contribute to your injury or death, or for other participants to act in a manner that may cause you injury or cause your death. You are assuming the risk of participating in this agritourism activity.

2. We love children and understand the excitement children experience when exposed to open spaces and farm animals and we encourage visitors to bring their children. That said, please be a responsible parent and keep a close eye on your children and keep your children at your side at all time. There is to be absolutely no chasing of my animals (regardless of bare hands or baring sticks, stones, or any other instrument of livestock death and despair). Do not enter my enclosures without my express permission and accompanyment. While my animals are mostly calm and tame, go ahead and presume they are the meanest animals on the face of the earth and do not approach them without my consent.

3. Use your brain and dress and prepare appropriately for a farm tour. No open toed shoes

4. I love giving tours and talking and would never charge for information and often times I even give away products for people to try. That said, my time is important, if you feel it is appropriate and warranted I am not opposed to or above the charity of a donation for my time and knowledge, every bit of which you can guarantee will go back into the black hole that is agriculture on this farm. I generally tend to think of my time as being worth $10.00-20.00 an hour. It is not necessary to recompensate me for information gladly shared, but the sentiment is appreciated. This of course does not apply to customers who are purchasing from me or even just checking things out.

The Safe Seed Pledge.

We at Bishop's Homegrown/Face Of The Earth Seed have signed the Safe Seed Pledge which states the following:

"Agriculture and seeds provide the basis upon which our lives depend. We must protect this foundation as a safeand genetically stable source for future generations. For the benefit of all farmers, gardeners and consumers whowant an alternative,We pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants.The mechanical transfer of genetic material outside of natural reproductive methods and between genera, familiesor kingdoms, poses great biological risks as well as economic, political, and cultural threats. We feel thatgenetically engineered varieties have been insufficiently tested prior to public release. More research and testing isnecessary to further assess the potential risks of genetically engineered seeds. Further, we wish to supportagricultural progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems and ultimately healthypeople and communities."

Penn Wilson (circa '96) showing me how to "turn" a shepards hook.

My great-uncle Arlene showing off a Banana Squash he grew sometime in the mid 80's!

Tobacco Culture runs deep in this family. Dad with our crop around '95 or so.

Welcome To....!

Sketch of the new logo by the amazing Mary Deem Pfeifer!

http://faceoftheearthseed.blogspot.com/

Don't forget to check out the 2011 Face Of The Earth seed Bazaar (public catalog). We've provided a skin and bones blogspot so you don't have to dig through the main blog here to find our new seed list.

Welcome To Bishop's Homegrown

Bishop's Homegrown and Face Of The Earth Seed are the names for both our farm and our family owned business. We are intensley devoted to developing self-sustainable alternative means and methods for our own livlihood as well as for the education of the world at large.

As the world around us changes, evolves, and devolves as we are seeing at the moment we think it more important than ever to be prepared and capable to not only survive but thrive and to understand the intricate web-like system that "eco-logical" farming represents.

We hope in the coming years to be able to provide to our customers not only information but also nursery stock of rare varieties, seeds of our unique breeding projects, livestock, and much more.

Our emphasis is on developing new varieties of livestock and plants uniquely adapted to low input farming in the Ohio valley but also in the wider world. We want to be able to provide reliable stock, information, and methods to those who wish to persue a self-sustainable lifestyle or a career in market farming, but more importantly for those concerned about what lies around the corner in the road for all of us.

Use this blog to keep up with what we have available for sale, the many projects we are working on, and for informational purposes.

Be sure as well to check out our small but growing message board of plant breeders, homesteaders, and survivalists at alanbishop.proboards.com